Strike, Counter, Kick

After a vigorous warm-up of stretches, bodyweight exercises, and kickboxing-type movements in the air, we walked out to an open field where the football team was already training. I immediately found Theron and Reed going at it in a large, chalked-out circle on the grass. Theron almost looked as if he was deliberately trying not to look at me. Reed saw me and caught my eye, nodding to me. He had been running around town yesterday morning and caught up to me. We exchanged small talk about how the dance mainly was, then tried to race me in a sprint by my house. He won, of course, but barely. I decided I liked Reed. He was a good guy and someone I didn’t have to fear. Arrogant as hell still, but a good guy.

I ran into Naya, knocking me out of my stupor as the squad team stopped at a place with several large circles scattered closely around each other. Around each circle were a couple of sets of pads. Ms. Swan yelled out who would be pairing up with whom. Thankfully, she paired me with Na